Stella McCartney Gives Fashion the Green Treatment

by Teen Vogue

Stella McCartney, photographed for Vogue by Bruce Weber, at her house in the english country side.

Stella McCartney Espadrilles, $445, shirt, $265, and Tote.

Rihanna in Stella McCartney

On the Runway

When your dad is one of the most famous rock stars of all time, it's almost impossible to make a name for yourself as anything other than so-and-so's kid. But Stella McCartney (aka Paul McCartney’s kid) has beaten the odds with a mini-empire of eponymous fashion, accessories, fragrance, and skin-care lines; a collection of athleticwear for Adidas; and a series of one-off fast-fashion collabs with the likes of H&M and GapKids (who could forget that supercute band jacket?). Things are going so well for McCartney these days that the only label she’s worried about being marginalized by is "green." "I don't want people to buy my designs just because they aren't leather," she says. "I want people to buy them because they're beautiful."

Since founding her label a decade ago, she's succeeded on both fronts. All of her pieces are 100 percent animal product-free, and nearly a third are eco-sustainable (the soles of her boots and sneakers are even biodegradable). No small feat, according to the designer. In an accessories market dominated by leather, she's managed to innovate with velvet, linen, and recycled nylon. (She won't use popular leather substitute PVC on account of its environmental effects.) As for clothing, she favors low-impact dye. "At the end of the day, it forces me to be more creative," says McCartney, who has the distinction of being the first designer to use organic cotton for a logo.

Not that she's in it just for the challenge. Her late mother, Linda, was an outspoken animal-rights activist, who, decades before the first Whole Foods even opened its doors, raised McCartney and her siblings on an organic farm in the English countryside. So when she started her business, "being green sort of came without thinking," she says. It's a spirit that's proved contagious: Her label's parent company, PPR, just launched an eco initiative requiring its other brands— including Gucci, YSL, and Balenciaga—to follow suit. Still, "my first job is fashion designer," McCartney says. In other words, use the "g" word and she’d sooner have you call her "Paul’s kid."